Compute passive retention memory index, active avoidance percent, failure percent, ceiling QC, group SEM, and CSV export.
Switch between passive latency scoring and active shuttle avoidance sessions. The calculator reports animal-level endpoints, group mean plus SEM, and CSV exports.
| Animal | Group | Acquisition latency (s) | Retention latency (s) | No shock | Memory index | QC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 228.0 | OK | |||||
| 248.0 | OK | |||||
| 108.0 | OK | |||||
| 263.0 | Ceiling risk |
When to use
Do not use for
Long passive retention can reflect memory, freezing, sedation, anxiety, or a cutoff ceiling. Pair retention with activity and no-shock controls when possible.
Avoidance prevents shock, while escape terminates shock after onset. Keep these counts separate before calculating percent avoidance.
High intertrial crossings can create apparent shuttle responses that do not reflect cue-shock learning. Treat crossings as a locomotor QC signal.
Passive memory index is retention latency minus acquisition latency. Active avoidance percent is avoidance responses divided by avoidance plus escape plus failure trials. Failure percent uses the same total-trial denominator. Group SEM uses sample standard deviation divided by square root of n.
Last validated 2026-04-30. Calculations are designed for planning and documentation support; verify procurement decisions against manufacturer specifications or institutional SOPs.
ConductScience Active Passive Avoidance Calculator (v1.0). ConductScience, Inc. 2026. Available at: https://conductscience.com/tools/active-passive-avoidance-calculator
This tool performs descriptive calculations from user-entered avoidance data. It does not replace protocol-specific statistics, animal welfare review, or shock calibration.
Avoidance assays quantify aversive learning with either passive withholding of a punished action or active emission of a shuttle response. Passive avoidance is usually a one-trial learning and retention paradigm. Active two-way avoidance is a repeated-session acquisition paradigm.
This calculator keeps the two paradigms separate so latency and count-based endpoints are not mixed in one spreadsheet.
Passive memory index equals retention latency minus acquisition latency. Group summaries use animal-level memory index values.
Active avoidance percent equals avoidance responses divided by avoidance plus escape plus failure trials, multiplied by 100. Failure percent uses the same denominator.
Review passive no-shock rows with retention latencies above 250 s because they can indicate a ceiling-limited assay or locomotor suppression. In active avoidance, compare failures with intertrial crossings to separate learning deficits from hyperactivity or nonspecific shuttling.
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